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SeaDarQ Oil Spill Detection Enhanced
Source:     Editor:     Date: 2014-1-10

A new version of the SeaDarQ oil spill detection system has been presented. The main new features are a new hardware platform, automatic oil spill detection and an integrated coastline database.

 Automatic detection of spills is important for many applications. Sophisticated processing algorithms can discriminate weak spots in the image from a true oil spill. The result is a higher detection rate without increasing the number of false alarms as shown in the video.

An oil spill may be found within the sea clutter. Filtering and corrections are applied for analysis.

Coastline database

A detailed worldwide coastline database contributes to automatic oil spill detection. It effectively defines regions to exclude from processing. It also aids by establishing a buffer near the land that typically has reduced winds. The result is better spill detection in the direction of the land while this reducing the number of false detects. The SeaDarQ software can now overlay the land using the coastline database resulting in a cleaner image. The coastline database resolution is 10 metres. Note, in the image at the top, the wind shadows along the coast which are neglected from processing with the aid of the coastline database.

Ship Shadow Detection

When vessels are in the field of view of a radar they often cast a "radar shadow" behind them. These shadows appear much like an oil spill so it is important to detect and neglect these from the automatic oil spill detection.

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(Edited by Topco)